The European Union’s latest list of approved ship recycling facilities includes 45 facilities, but there is still no place for yards from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The list identifies shipyards that are qualified to dismantle European-flag ships as required by the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR).
Among the changes in the latest list, Denmark’s Stena Recycling, the Netherlands’ Scheepssloperij Nederland and Norway’s Lutelandet Offshore have dropped off because they are no longer involved in ship recycling.
The approval of Turkish yards Leyal Gemi Sokum Sanayi ve Ticaret and Leyal-Demtaş Gemi Sokum Sanayi ve Ticaret was due to expire this month, but the EU said it would renew their approval.
The US company International Shipbreaking’s approval will also be extended.
Of the facilities named in the EU list, 35 are in Europe and the UK, nine are Turkish and one is US.
The future of the SRR has become less certain since the International Maritime Organization’s Hong Kong Convention for the Safe & Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships entered into force.
The Hong Kong Convention will enter into force globally in 2025, raising the question of how it can coexist with a regional regulation like the SRR.
The Hong Kong Convention is open to approving recycling facilities in South Asia.
But Asian yards are not included in the SRR list because the regulation does not approve of the beaching method used by India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Many EU member states have already ratified the Hong Kong Convention and are committed to two separate recycling regulations.
